RATED G
This is a companion piece to “I’ve Found a Way”. Once again, major sap ahead. Other than that, no warnings needed.
Alliance owns these characters, and I make no legal claim to them. This story is written for entertainment purposes only, and no profit will be made.
SAFETY
Ben closed the last file and added it to the stack on his desk. He was just about to switch off the lamp and leave for the day when his phone rang. Barely suppressing a sigh, he answered it. “Constable Benton Fraser.”
“Hey, Benny!”
Ben smiled at the sound of his lover’s voice. “Hello Ray.”
“I’m glad I caught you still at your desk. Look Benny, I got a little caught up here at work, so I’m just leaving. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“That’s fine, Ray.”
“Yeah, I know; but I know you. I didn’t want you to be standing there worrying about me. And I didn’t want you waiting a long time in this heat in your damn red serge. You wait inside at least fifteen more minutes, all right Benny?”
“Yes Ray,” Ben answered, amused.
“You didn’t stand guard duty today, did you?”
Ben could sense his lover building towards indignant anger, and he rushed to reassure him. “Of course I didn’t. It was over 100 degrees today. Inspector Thatcher wouldn’t make us stand guard duty in that kind of heat.”
“No, I guess not,” Ray admitted grudgingly. “All right, I’ll be there soon Benny.”
“I’ll see you then, Ray.” Ben hung up the phone with a smile. Even though Fraser was a grown man, perfectly able to take care of himself, Ray still felt it was his duty to look out for him, to take care of him and protect him.
And although he would never come right out and admit it to Ray, Ben liked it. He liked the attention Ray paid to him, the feeling of having someone care about him and look after him.
He had been on his own for so long that he had convinced himself that he liked it that way, that he preferred the solitude. He used to tell himself that he was independent, self-sufficient. And he was. He had gotten very good at not needing anyone, not letting anyone near enough for him to need them.
Then he had met one Ray Vecchio, who didn’t give a damn about any of that. He had seen all of Benny’s barriers and warning signals and blithely ignored them, barging into his life and making himself the center of it before Benny could even try to stop him.
Not that Fraser had put up much of a fight. He had been fascinated by this man from the very start, even before it had occurred to him to fall in love with Ray. This loud, sensitive, brash, caring, strong, vulnerable man; who brought noise and color to his life where before there had been only silent whiteness.
He had tried explaining this to Ray a few times, but he must not have done a very good job, because Ray hadn’t really understood him.
“I don’t give you all that, Benny.”
“You do, Ray.”
“Well, anything I give you could never repay what you give to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You believe in me, Benny.”
Ben had been genuinely surprised at the statement. “Well, of course I do, Ray.”
“Not everyone does.”
“What do you mean? Many people believe in you. Your mother, all your family.”
“Yeah, but that’s just it. They’re family. They have to. You don’t *have* to believe in me, you just do.”
Ben shook his head. Honestly, his lover made no sense sometimes. Of course he believed in Ray. How could he not? It would be like not believing the sun would come up each morning.
He knew who Ray was, and he believed in that man. He had pledged to spend his whole life with him.
Fraser donned his Stetson and left his office, heading downstairs. It was funny really, if he thought about it. He had had to leave the vast, wide-open spaces of Canada and come to the noisy, crowded city of Chicago to find peace.
Ben stepped outside the Consulate and locked the door. As he headed towards the sidewalk, a large smile broke out over his face. A green Riviera was just pulling up to the curb.
As the car came to a stop, Ray leaned over and opened the passenger-side door. “Hey gorgeous, you want a ride home?”
Ben grinned back at his lover, then entered the comfort of the Riv and closed the door behind him.
THE END
Return to Home Page